Waiting On Something
by amandavices
Summary: What if Eli had made Clare wait too long? See what unfolds when he must watch her with another. Will he ever win her back? Or will the two be stuck forever, waiting on something? Rated M for future chapters!


**Hi! I'm Amanda! This is my first attempt (well, actually my second, but I will never finish that story) at a multiple chapter story. Eclare, of course. But I decided to explore what would happen had Eli made Clare wait, which I think has been done before, but this is a bit different. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, I do own a laptop though.**

* * *

"Your idea for that new ending? I like it," he smiled, reinforcing just how he felt about it.

"Me too," she lied, smiling enough to fool him.

* * *

"Clare! Clare snap out of it," Eli chuckled, giving the girl a playful bump with his shoulder. Lately, he was noticing her head was out of every conversation the two would have, alone or not. He didn't especially like it, because instead of her getting lost with him, in him, she was staring at inanimate objects, different people. He asked her to wait, and she was, but it had been two months. He couldn't bring himself to ask her, even though it was killing him.

"Yeah, sorry," she muttered, looking at him as if she was bored. Two months stuck in standstill. She watched his mouth move, something about the play, and she nodded, feeling herself drifting off again. Her gaze shifted back to the lunch line, using her fork carelessly to feed herself. Eli noticed Clare's action's however, and followed her gaze, feeling his insides burn when he noticed where her eyes were lingering. She was looking at Owen Milligan, and his fists unconsciously curled around the table in extreme jealously.

"Who's that, Edwards?" He had to know how she knew him. Eli had to know why she wasn't looking at him that way.

"I've been tutoring him," Clare answered simply, shrugging her shoulders and turning to him, taking another bite of her lunch. Letting the fork rest on her lips for a moment, she smiled, unfazed by the by the boy's obvious jealously. "He's surprisingly nice," she giggled, remembering how Owen had taken her to The Dot after their studying session last week, the way he pushed her hair back when she was exiting his car.

"In what does he need tutoring in, exactly? Raping girls?" Eli snapped, the gossip that surrounded him and Anya making his head explode. Clare was his, right? She was waiting for him, wasn't she? He studied her as she turned her head to glare at him, her blue eyes that used to be so sweet and attentive toward him were angry and bored, and he felt like he had done something terribly wrong.

"She wanted to have sex with him, Eli. You're assuming things without even hearing his side," she snapped, holding back harsh words that the word rape made her want to unleash. His green eyes looked hurt, as if she had personally wounded him. "He's nice," she tried again, wanting him to know that Owen would never hurt her. He didn't seem comforted at her attempt.

"He just wants to hook up with you," he snarled, his insides twisting again at the thought of Owen's hands on her, the thought of Owen's mouth on hers.

"So?" Clare scoffed, "He asked me out on a date," she told him lowly. Two months of waiting, and Clare was pushed to her limit. Eli pushed his luck. "I don't have a boyfriend," she commented briskly, the comment making his heart heavy.

"What did you say?"

Clare bit her lip at his low tone; the way his voice quivered nervously was something she couldn't miss. "I said yes," she murmured softly.

"Okay," Eli answered in response, as if it was a question. But he knew quite well she wasn't asking permission, because Clare Edwards didn't need it. She was right, she didn't have a boyfriend. He had been so ready to be with her; of course he should've known she wouldn't make a move. He scared her, when he snapped after kissing her. Every time he went to bed after that, he closed his eyes and tried to block out everything, desperately trying to remember the way her lips felt on his. She was waiting for a move on his part, but he had been too afraid to make one. He lost her. He felt sick about it.

"I'm, uh, Owen's calling me over, I'm gonna finish lunch with him," she told him softly, touching his arm as she moved out of their table, giving Adam a small smile as he came closer to the two. Or the one now, as Clare began walking away.

"Hey man," Adam began excitedly, "So the new edition of The Goon came out and I was wondering if you and I could-," But, Eli cut him off.

"I'm not really in the mood to do anything, Adam," he told him, putting his face in his hands.

"Ugh," the other boy groaned, taking a quick bite of his sandwhich as he watched his friend sulk, "Why are you upset now, Goth boy?"

Though Eli would usually quirk a sarcastic remark at Adam's question, today he simply groaned in pain. "Clare," he managed, using one hand to point to the curly haired girl sitting with the Milligan boy.

"Wait a second; he threw me into a door!" Adam accused, angry for once, rather than the carefree boy he usually was. "Traitor," he sneered.

"No, Adam, don't be mad at her," Eli said, sorrowfully looking up from his hands, "It's my fault."

"How in the fuck is this your fault?"

"I made her wait too long, she's moved on," and he felt heart drop again.

It was like nothing he ever felt before, he noticed.

* * *

In English, he kept getting wafts of her perfume, and he felt dizzy. Every Clare leaned back just a little bit, Eli could feel himself growing distracted by her smell. He couldn't just cut her out of his life, because she was his new ray of light. But she was a lighthouse, and of course of other boats would need her. Would he be so selfish to claim her as his like that?

The answer is yes.

After class, he hurried after her, tugging on her arm softly before she walked too far. "Clare," he rushed, "When are you going on your date with Owen?" She looked shocked, as if she had no idea why he would even care about this, biting her lip nervously.

"After school tomorrow," she answered, her voice almost a whisper. As if she summoned the devil, the tall boy came out of nowhere, wrapping an arm around her waist. He kissed the top of her head, and Eli just knew Owen was giving him the primal signal that Clare was his now and to back off.

"Hey babe," he greeted Clare, his nose against her hair so his lips were at her ear. Her face blushed a deep scarlet, and Eli couldn't remember when he made her glow so beautifully.

"Hi," Clare said, smiling shyly, and Eli felt as if he was intruding on a personal moment.

"Um," the green eyed boy coughed awkwardly, not wanting to see any more. He didn't think he could take it.

"Um, Eli, I'll talk to you later, right?" Clare asked, and Eli felt his heart drop for the hundredth time that day.

"Yeah, later," the boy answered, turning away and hearing the small girl's beautiful giggle behind him. That was his favorite sound, his favorite noise in the whole world, and someone else was making it happen.

Sometimes, life could never be more bittersweet.

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**Reviews please?**


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